HOW I BECAME AN ONLINE JOURNALIST – A Journey Into Madness

A lot of you may be wondering how mild-mannered blogger, The Powerwolf, managed to land a gig writing part-time for a mighty internet powerhouse like Screen Rant. Well, the answer is Hard Work. Hard Work, and having lots of opinions and then writing about them, and then creating a news article sample in the style of a Screen Rant article whilst slowly descending into a dream-like chaos from which I may never return.

Here is my writing sample – the entirely made up breaking story of Michael Keaton’s role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Let it stand as a testament to the lengths I’ve gone in the pursuit of a fulfilling career.

Michael Keaton’s Role In Spider-Man: Homecoming Revealed

The official word comes from Marvel Studios. You may want to read this one sitting down.

There’s been no shortage of speculation about the future of Spider-Man’s solo adventures, especially now that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are working together to integrate the webslinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland’s showing in Captain America: Civil War was considered a highlight by critics and fans alike, and anticipation is at an all time high for 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car) and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (Vacation -2015).

Deadline recently confirmed that Michael Keaton had finalized a deal to appear in Homecoming. We recently reported a rumor first posted by JoBlo that this villainous role is likely to be classic Spidey villain, The Vulture. It turns out that rumor was way off the mark!

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that Michael Keaton has joined the production of Spider-Man: Homecoming as Felicia Hardy, The Black Cat! See the film in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017.

Along with the surprising reveal, Producer Amy Pascal shared her feelings,

Michael is an actor with amazing range. He’s played heroes and villains – always with a level of humanity and humor that we’ve come to expect from a Marvel production. We knew that framing such a classic anti-heroine as a trans-gendered woman was going to be a divisive choice – this version of Black Cat may be the first transgendered character to appear in a super hero film – but the Johns [Daley and Goldstein] have turned in a great script, and we’re convinced that Michael is the man to play the woman that fans will get behind.

In addition to the uncommon precedence this sets, this raises all new questions about Felicia’s character. Will the comic book Black Cat be revealed as having been transgendered all along? Does Peter Parker know, and will it make any difference to him? The two had a series of romantic affairs in the classic (616) universe, though it’s possible the film will take a page from the Ultimate Spider-Man series, due to the major age differences between the characters.

Typical Parker luck – Art by Mark Bagley – Ultimate Spider-Man #85

Then again, both Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War used incredibly convincing special effects to de-age the stars. Will we even recognize Michael Keaton in this role?

So are The Vulture or The Tinkerer even in this film? It’s still possible. The Tinkerer in the comics is responsible for the bulk of Black Cat’s arsenal. This could even be a revitalization of the plot Sam Raimi planned for his ill-fated Spider-Man 4, in which Tobey Maguire’s Spidey would have battled The Vulture and Black Cat. Raimi was keen to cast none other than Anne Hathaway in the role, who later went on to star as proto-cat-lady Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. Felicity Jones (Star Wars: Rogue One) also played Felicia Hardy briefly in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, though that version bore little resemblance the the comic book character.

One thing’s for sure, Sony and Marvel have their work cut out for them. Stories concerning bathroom usage by the transgendered community have been lighting up the news lately, and the controversy around peoples’ rights to self prescribe their own gender identities have come to the forefront of political consciousness. Is this the reason Keaton originally turned down the role? How will audiences respond to his take on the character, and will it approach the implied social issues head on?

How do you feel about Keaton as Black Cat? Let us know in the comments section, but please remember to keep it civil.

As I said… madness. Be sure to check out ScreenRant.com for real movie news that I’ll be writing about in the future. And don’t worry. The immense fame and riches that come from being a part-time entertainment journalist won’t change me.